CyberPower Gamer Xtreme 8500: How Far Can SLI 450's Go?
by Dustin Sklavos on September 16, 2010 12:15 AM ESTConclusion
The MSRP we were given for the CyberPower Gamer Xtreme 8500 was $1,499. As of this writing, that particular machine still isn't up on CyberPower's site. I tried to assemble a similar build using their "Rattler:" it's basically identical and it cost a pretty hefty $1,715, so here's hoping that MSRP eventually shows up and sticks. Going through the custom Intel P55 Configurator results in a similar price.
What do we get for the money? If you can get it for $1,499, that brings the build pretty close to what you'd pay for the components individually and in that case it's not that bad. These are all quality components, though again the case feels a little like a cut corner. Maybe a softly sanded, rounded corner, but it's still a place where money was saved on the build. Everything else is fairly choice, though, and while a single GTS 450 may underwhelm, a pair in SLI make an excellent alternative to single-GPU solutions like the Radeon HD 5870 and the GeForce GTX 470.
The drag is that the overclock is another lazy one. Seriously, auto voltages in the BIOS? And again, they couldn't be bothered to try and leave SpeedStep or Turbo enabled, and they couldn't be bothered to use the "Offset" mode. I don't understand this, and it's a problem that's shown up in all three boutique units I've reviewed now: yes, it takes time to properly tune an overclock, but there's no reason a series of builds can't be lined up on a bench and tuned for a day. Just leave Prime95 running overnight to be sure. It's not like you have to actually sit there and calculate pi with the program. Instead we have watercooled processors with so much juice being shoved into them that they idle in the forties. Good thing it comes with a three year warranty and lifetime technical support.
Having all four bays taken up straight from the factory may also be an issue to some users. It's a minor complaint, but if you're like me you like being able to have one optical drive designated to hold a game disc and the other for regular use. In other words, we didn't find the Aerocool Touch 2000 worth the two bays it occupies.
On the other hand, the performance is there. We'd probably recommend upgrading to a pair of GeForce GTX 460s to really let the overclocked i7 soar, but other than that everything seems to be in its right place. If you had to choose between the 8500 and the iBuyPower Paladin XLC we reviewed, we'd probably recommend the 8500 for the faster processor and quieter graphics solution. At $1,499 as quoted to us, the Gamer Xtreme 8500 is a solid choice and reasonably easy to recommend. On the other hand, if you have to pay the $1,715 I ran into on their site, it may be time to learn to roll your own. At that price, it isn't worth the markup and doesn't separate itself from competing solutions.
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Roland00 - Thursday, September 16, 2010 - link
I agree with your logic on the video cards, but factually... the sli gts 450s are almost exactly the same speed of a gtx 470 (in most benches within 5% of each other) if the games scale well with sli. Two 450s are faster than 1 460 even a 1gb version of 460 if the game scales well with sli.You could always OC the 460 1gb to get very close to the sli gts 450s/gtx 470; but at the same time there is nothing stopping you from OC the 450s or the 470.
Still I can't recommend the gts 450s for you can get better value from other video cards picks
adonn78 - Thursday, September 16, 2010 - link
The GTS 450 is like a 5750 that uses more electricity and costs more money. I'd get 2 5770's Crossfire , a single 5850 or GTS 470. For less money and better performance, great review. I am waiting for the AMD 6770 to come out in October before I buy a New PC. And i am considering getting a cyberpower sicne they have the Asetek liquid cooling and affordable prices. I personally could ahve configured a better computer for less mone but you guys wanted to test out the new mediocre geforce cards.AstroGuardian - Thursday, September 16, 2010 - link
If you are so much of a n expert then why don't you assemble the perfect computer for you? Why cyberpower?acooke - Thursday, September 16, 2010 - link
Can you guys do me a favour and tell me if it's OK to take this kind of computer as carry-on (on Delta)? Can I carry a laptop too?The reason I ask is that I will be visiting the USA for a few months and am going to build my own machine in this form factor. But I need to be able to carry it back to Chile... Thanks!
acooke - Thursday, September 16, 2010 - link
Sorry - see my other comment here - I thought this was smaller form factor system. I'll wait for the Cube review and ask again...softdrinkviking - Friday, September 17, 2010 - link
i have done a lot of traveling lately, and i experienced a bit of trouble with some of my baggage.I think that you should be prepared to check it, or picked up from a claim desk with a ticket or something.
You could probably take it carry on, but they might open it up and look around and waste your time in a major way, and they also might force you to check it so they can put it through their security devices.
i think it depends a lot on the temperament of the airline employees you deal with, and also on the constantly changing rules that get passed to the security people at the gates.
for example, i actually got a nail clipper taken from me once, and the next time i got on a plane, i realized i had a new clipper with me, and i offered it to the officer who promptly told me that the rules had changed and i could now take it with me!
so don't assume anything, pack it with foam inserts on the inside of the case, and have a good enclosure or box prepared.
personally, i would pack it up all crazy and mail it, but you can probably do a claim ticket for it so it won't get thrown down the luggage ramp.(for some xtra $)
Roland00 - Thursday, September 16, 2010 - link
A single gts 450 is going for 130 to 140 at the time of writing.The gtx 460 (768) is much faster and is currently going for 180 and higher
The gtx 470 is the speed of a sli gts450s and you can get this card for 249.99+tax at Frys(everyday not a sale price, it has been this price now for 3 weeks). If you don't have a Fry's nearby you can get a gtx 470 for 300 online. (If you do MIR it is cheaper than 300).
The gtx 470 is the speed of two gts 450s in sli if everything scales. If it doesn't scale then the 470 will clobber it. Also you don't have to worry about the little issues with sli such as microstutter and profiles and such. The 470 solution is either cheaper (if you get it for 250 such as the fry deal I mention), or if you get the parts online for 300 for the gtx 470, you will have ot spend the 40 dollars extra on a sli motherboard (since only the high end p55 or almost any x58 motherboards support sli, thus you are spending extra on the motherboard.)
If you must have sli, well the sli gtx 460s is much faster than the sli gts 450s, and is only 80 dollars more.
The only reason I can see you getting the sli 450s instead of a 470 is if you must have nvidia surround to do 3 displays. If you must have this, I would so recommend stepping up to the 460s or better for running 3 monitors at once is hard and you have already spent 400 at least on 3 monitors, and probably 1500ish on the computer, you should spend 80 more for surround.
jfelano - Thursday, September 16, 2010 - link
Too big a psu and too little video card. HD5850 performance and a 750w Corsair psu??flipmode - Thursday, September 16, 2010 - link
I swear I'm going to spam every system review with this. It's absurd that you've been doing all of these system reviews and there is no link to the systems category of articles.flipmode - Thursday, September 16, 2010 - link
7 articles in 2010, none of them accessible to anyone that doesn't know to manually type the URL.